Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-03

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The maps below show the centre of a small town called Islip as it is now, and plans for its development.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

This map talks particularly about the town Islip and its plan for development . The first map provides the layout of the town's centre, which is currently in place. The most major change which is observed here, is that all areas are to be surrounded by a round like dual carriageway instead of the straight road layout which is currently there. The dual carriageway is surrounded by amenities like The bus station, Shopping centre, Car Parking, Shops,Housing,New Housing, and a park. The school remains where it is. The benefit from this new plan, is to gain all these new amenities such as a bus station, a shopping centre and a car parking. These are most advantageous to parents and students as they have a bus station and a car parking that is developed in the plan. There is also a pedestrians only area which is very helpful as it will create more discipline and safety. Overall the new plan development of the town Islip is very well compared to the current one, as this provides more facilities and a better balanced environment in terms of services.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response attempts to cover the main features of the maps, noting the introduction of the dual carriageway and various new amenities like the bus station and shopping centre. However, the information is only partially developed and relies heavily on personal interpretation and speculation rather than objective reporting of visual data, stating for example that the changes will create more discipline and safety. Furthermore, some spatial descriptions are inaccurate, such as claiming the dual carriageway surrounds all areas while the school remains outside. To move higher, the report needs to focus strictly on summarizing the factual changes without adding outside commentary, while ensuring all key spatial relationships between the current and planned layouts are clearly articulated.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text demonstrates a basic level of organization, but lacks a clear overall progression. The response is presented as a single dense paragraph rather than being appropriately structured into an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. While cohesive devices like 'The first map', 'The most major change', and 'Overall' are used, referencing and logical flow between sentences are occasionally mechanical or repetitive. To achieve a higher band, you should divide your writing into logical paragraphs, ensure a smoother transition of ideas from one spatial feature to the next, and avoid repeating the same structural patterns for introducing details.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, with some attempts at less common items such as 'dual carriageway', 'amenities', and 'advantageous'. However, there are noticeable limitations and awkward collocations, such as referring to the ring road as a 'round like dual carriageway' or calling a parking lot a 'Car Parking'. Word choices are sometimes imprecise, and expressions are repeated throughout the text. To improve lexical resource, you should employ a wider and more precise range of vocabulary related to urban planning and spatial change, ensuring correct word forms and natural collocations without unnecessary repetition.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response shows a limited range of sentence structures, with attempts at complex sentences often containing errors or awkward phrasing, such as 'The benefit from this new plan, is to gain all these new amenities such as...'. There are frequent errors in punctuation, articles, and prepositions, including unnecessary commas separating subjects from verbs and missing articles before nouns like 'bus station' and 'shopping centre'. Although the meaning remains generally understandable, these recurring inaccuracies prevent the writing from achieving a higher band. To progress, you need to demonstrate better control over complex grammatical structures, use punctuation more accurately, and pay closer attention to articles and prepositions.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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